Compared to a Life
by PFTones3482
Summary: Rated high T for mentions of suicide, self harm, and LGBTQ and racial discrimination (contains slurs so please use caution). As Randy checks up on the town one night, he comes across a girl his age on the edge of a building, ready to jump. Can he keep her from falling? Or will he reveal all to save her? One Shot


**Idk what is up with me and writing depressing, suicidal fanfic lately (oh wait, yes I do), but this idea popped into my head and I couldn't let it go. **

***NOTE: FREAKING READ IT NOW***

**This story deals with somewhat mature topics, including LGBTQ standpoints, racial discrimination, and suicide. **

**I don't appreciate hate. ****I **_**will**_** report you if you make racial slurs or make rude commentary towards the LGBTQ community. **

**I want constructive criticism on my writing and, if I have misidentified something racially or about sexuality, please tell me politely so I can correct it. **

**If you submit a hateful comment anonymously, you are not welcome here. If you cannot tell me your putrid standpoints without using a user-name, you do not belong on this website and you need to leave and grow up.**

***END NOTE***

**I don't own Randy Cunningham: 9****th**** Grade Ninja. What in the **_**cheese **_**happened in the most recent episode?! Magical white Julian? WHAT? HOW?**

**Anyway. Read on.**

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><p>GENERAL POV<p>

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><p>"No bro, it was just a burglary. The cops got it all taken care of before I even got there," the current Norrisville ninja, Randy Cunningham, said to his best friend Howard over the phone.<p>

Randy currently stood on top of a skyscraper, balanced delicately on the pointy needle on top, and scanned the surrounding area closely, looking for any signs of trouble. "I think I'm going to do a quick check of the city, make sure nothing wonky is going on. See you tomorrow, Howard."

"Don't get killed," Howard advised him before hanging up the phone.

Randy rolled his eyes and shoved the phone into his waistband. He knew Howard cared, and that the teen's sarcasm was just a way for him to hide the nervousness that his best bro could potentially die at any point. Howard had saved his life more times than Randy could remember, and the ninja knew that if not for the stout little child, he'd probably be dead by now.

Randy wrapped his fingers tightly around his scarf and flung it outwards, letting it latch around a pole before he leapt off of the tower, completely trusting the fabric to catch him before he hit the cold, solid ground under him.

The bright red material snapped back and Randy let his body move into the swing, using the momentum to toss his scarf again and fly forward, feeling somewhat like Spiderman.

The wind whipped in his ears, the night cool and refreshing compared to the sudden warm spot that had occurred that December week. The moon was half hidden behind several clouds, its light bright enough to keep Randy from smashing into numerous buildings and trees and to cast soft shadows to the ground below the ninja.

He kept his eyes peeled, dark blue corneas searching the ground carefully for any signs of trouble.

The town was sleepy, only the occasional car, most likely a night shift worker, driving through the barren streets, the majority still stopping for stop signs and lights despite the lack of traffic. It was late, much past Randy's curfew, and he knew that if his mom woke up and found him missing, she would either call the police or storm from the house and kill him herself.

Sticking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, Randy flung his scarf upwards and landed firmly on the roof of what he considered the tallest building (aside from McFist industries) in town.

His eyes scanned the rooftops as the Nomicon began buzzing softly against his chest. Randy frowned and slipped his hand into his suit to grab the book, but before his fingers had even touched the book, glowing letters filtered into his line of sight.

_Those about to fall are the ones who often seem sturdiest. _

Randy frowned, crinkling his eyebrows, and opened his mouth to respond. The letters, however, swirled around him, turning the boy in a 180 degree spin and briefly turning into an arrow before vanishing into smoke.

When his vision cleared, Randy found himself looking at a teenager, their features hidden by a hoodie pulled over their head. He or she was leaning against the edge of the roof, staring down at the ground with the fingers tapping nervously on the hard concrete.

While the scene seemed innocent enough, Randy knew something was wrong, if only because of the way the Nomicon had reacted to him being on that roof. He stepped forward carefully, tilting his head.

"Are you um…are you okay?" he asked softly.

The figure leapt about a foot in the air and spun to face him, the hood falling off in the process. A teenage girl about his age stared at him with wide, chocolate brown eyes, her dark skin shining under the moonlight. She pushed back her luscious curls and stepped away, her heel hitting the wall.

One glance over her shoulder, and Randy knew what the girl was thinking, what the Nomicon had meant. "Hey! Wait. I…who are you?" he asked, moving forward slowly.

The girl glanced back at him, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Why do you care?" she asked softly, her words biting.

Randy bit his lip and shrugged slightly, trying to stay calm. "I mean…you're on a roof at two in the morning. I'm a little curious as to why."

She shook her head, brushing her hair behind her ears and unintentionally revealing a dark bruise, black even against her already cocoa brown skin. Randy sucked in a breath and held out a hand.

"Look….you don't know me. I don't know you. But do you want to talk? I don't have anywhere to be, and you look like you need someone to speak with."

Her gaze met his and Randy was surprised to find tears in her eyes. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, she nodded and then sank to the ground, burying her head in her hands. Randy walked over to her and settled down gently, crossing his legs and leaning on his knees to look at the girl next to him.

"So?" Randy questioned her. "What's up?"

The girl snorted. "What isn't up? First off, my name is Grace. And I know you won't tell me your name, you being the ninja and all, so I'll just call you ninja, like everyone."

Randy sat back and motioned for her to go on. Grace sighed, picking at her fingernails and bringing her knees to her chest.

She wore a t-shirt and capris with a pair of sneakers that were well worn. The t-shirt was similar to Howards, though rather than a squid, the animal on it was a whale. She wore no makeup from what Randy could see, and now that he was so close, he could see that bruises littered his body.

"I don't even know where to start," the teen admitted, looking at the town hero in shame.

Randy relaxed a little and shrugged. "Start when you're comfortable. I won't push you. For all you know, you'll never meet me in real life."

Grace snorted and turned away from him, her short curls bouncing in the breeze as she stared at the waning moon. "I um…I'm bi. Like, bisexual?" she said, wincing and glancing over at Randy, her eyes scared.

He raised a slight eyebrow. "Okay…and?"

Looking a little stunned, Grace sank back against the wall and continued speaking. "And….my parents don't like that. Well, my dad doesn't. My mom is too scared of him to speak up. He says that I'm halfway to being lesbian, halfway to basically being a transgender whore, so the only way to make it stop is to beat it out of me."

Randy felt his fingers clench into fists and he scowled angrily at his hands, trying his best not to storm down the stairs and kill someone.

Grace kept glancing at him, as if unsure, but he waved her on. "And so like…I came out to a couple of my girlfriends. And they….they basically disowned me. Told me that they couldn't hang out with me because I might get crushes on them. I tried to tell my guy friends, but most of them decided that me being bi meant that I was constantly staring at girl's boobs and asses."

Randy glanced at her and she shot him a scowl. "I don't. Okay? I'm not a bitch like that. That'd be like staring at a guy's dick openly. You just don't do it."

The ninja's eyes sparkled and he nodded and Grace, still wary, continued. "Anyway….my one guy friend, who's gay, didn't care. He was like 'okay, cool, whatever' and went on with life. But everyone else…I mean, I still talk to some of them. But I've been told by people that I can't be bi, that I can't have both. I need to make up my mind."

She sighed, hiccupped, and buried her face in her hands. "I've been told I'm not clean, that I'm a whore, that I'm perverted and a liar. And like….I have depression on top of that, and lately I've been getting a lot of shit for my skin color too, especially after everything that happened in Ferguson and New York…"

Grace sighed and stood, leaning against the rooftop. Randy jumped to his feet, keeping a close eye on her. "I just….I really can't handle it anymore, Ninja. No one cares. I don't know why I pretend."

She snorted, brushing tears from her face. "What does one more black, bisexual death matter? No one would notice, no one would care. What's going on right now kind of makes that as obvious as fuck."

Randy leapt forward and grabbed her wrist lightly, his own eyes teary. He pulled the girl back lightly. "Look. I care. I really do. You can't jump, Grace."

She wrenched her fingers from his grasp and crossed her arms. "Why not? My dad wouldn't have an abomination of a child, people would stop calling me all these things, and I wouldn't have to deal with this shit anymore, this racism and discrimination. I'm so tired of it! Being black is an offense in its own, apparently, but also being bisexual? I'm close enough to being dead anyway!" she yelled at him, leaning over and pulling up her capris to reveal cut littered legs.

Randy gulped, his body shaking. He had never had to deal with something like this. He was scared. That this girl, his age, would kill herself if he left. That if she didn't, she would be continuously beaten by her father and bullied by other students and by society in general.

"Listen, Grace," Randy whispered, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I can't…imagine, can't fathom what kind of wonky shit you go through every day. But I do know that by using this story to your advantage, you can help make change."

Grace sighed, sitting on the edge of the roof. Randy kept a hand just at her back, his eyes flicking between her intense brown eyes and the ominous ground below.

"Ninja, if I go back inside tonight….who's to say I'll come out in the morning? My dad won't accept me," she murmured. "I'm always so scared that the beatings will go too far. I don't want to die by his terms. I want to die by my own."

Randy chewed on his lip, knowing that he was about to risk everything. "Then you won't go inside. I'll take you somewhere safe for the night."

She glanced up at him, her eyes watering and her face clearly showing surprise. "You…huh?"

The ninja shrugged and pulled his phone from his pocket. He knew that Howard would willingly let the girl sleep there, considering Howard's cousin was lesbian and that he had gone to multiple protests in her honor. Before he could press call, though, Grace put a hand on top of his.

"Ninja….you can't. I might figure out who you are, and that's way too risky," she protested.

Randy pulled his hand out from under hers and clicked the call button on the phone gently, reaching up and pulling his hood down with a surprising lack of hesitation. He saw the astonishment fill her eyes and he nodded to her, his dark purple hair ruffling as the wind blew across the rooftops.

"What's a secret compared to a life?"

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><p><strong>I don't think I'll continue this, if only because I don't have any other ideas for it. <strong>

***PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING. LIKE ALL OF IT***

**To be clear. I am 100 percent white. But I support LGBTQ and black rights with all of my heart. Some of my closest friends are gay and bi and my cousins are black. If I have said anything offensive in any way in this post, please tell me POLITELY. **

**One more thing: I do support Mike Brown. I do not accept the court's decision not to indict Officer Wilson. I am outraged by the death of Eric Garner, that his death was caught on film and the officer STILL wasn't indicted, that people STILL are finding a way to justify this man's death. I am saddened by the death of Chris Rice, considering I go to school only twenty minutes from Cleveland. The only reason I did not go to the protest tonight was because I had no way of transportation. **

**Debate me on this shit all you want. You will not get me to change my mind. It's time for our generation to stand up and put a stop to this crap, put a stop to the racism and discrimination faced everyday by wonderful people. I can't even imagine. I'm female; I've been discriminated against, but not nearly as much as the LGBTQ and black communities. I will fight for them to my dying breath. **

**White silence means white agreement. **

**Don't be silent.**

**On a lighter note, if yinz guys could check out my Secret Life: Your Way story and give me prompts, I would appreciate it. I'm fresh out of prompts and have none of my own at the moment. **

**Review por favor!**


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